Artemis II Completes Historic Lunar Flyby — Sets New Human Deep Space Distance Record at 252,706 Miles

Flight Day 6 of Artemis II delivered one of the most significant milestones in human spaceflight since the Apollo era. At 1:56 p.m. EDT, Orion surpassed Apollo 13's 1970 record of 248,655 miles from Earth — making Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen the farthest-traveling humans in history at 252,706 miles maximum distance. The lunar flyby observation window ran from 2:45 p.m. to 9:40 p.m. EDT; closest approach occurred at approximately 7:02 p.m. EDT at 4,070 miles above the lunar surface. The crew observed and photographed 30 pre-selected lunar targets including the Orientale basin (~600 miles wide, formed ~3.8 billion years ago), polar terrain, and candidate landing sites for future Artemis missions. The flyby provided unprecedented human visual observation of the lunar far side and south pole region. All Orion systems remained nominal; crew was in excellent health.